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Significant associations between material hardship at specific developmental stages and white matter connectivity after adjusting for other developmental stages. White matter connectivity and target on the left and zero-order plots on the right. (A) Increased material hardship at ages 5 and 9 years was related to increased right amygdala–dmPFC white matter connectivity, adjusting for other developmental stages. (B) Increased material hardship at age 15 years was related to increased left amygdala–sgACC white matter connectivity, adjusting for other developmental stages. (C) Increased material hardship at age 15 years was related to decreased right amygdala–OFC white matter connectivity, adjusting for other developmental stages.
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Accumulating literature has linked poverty to brain structure and function, particularly in affective neural regions; however, few studies have examined associations with structural connections or the importance of developmental timing of exposure. Moreover, prior neuroimaging studies have not used a proximal measure of poverty (i.e., material hard...
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Citations
... Material hardship linked to poverty may lead to different amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity in late infancy, and leads to reduced amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex connections in adolescents, also related to anxiety and depression, indicating some preferential windows of plasticity for targeted supporting interventions (Hardi et al., 2022). ...
The development of the human brain is a dynamic and complex process, profoundly
influenced by the surrounding environment during childhood. Early life experiences and
educational enrichment play a crucial role in brain development, highlighting the interplay
between genetic and environmental factors (1). The field of econeurobiology provides an
essential framework for understanding how these factors interact to shape neurobiological development. This perspective is particularly significant in recognizing how education and health function as critical social determinants that influence cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children.
... Additionally, extensive surveys, clinical interviews, discussion tasks, and biological measures (e.g., hair, saliva) were collected (Doom et al., 2022;Guzman et al., 2024;Hardi et al., 2024;Hein et al., 2020;Peckins et al., 2020). Based on the demographics of the cities sampled for SAND, participants in the neuroimaging study at age 15 identified primarily as Black (76 % as Black, 6 % as Hispanic), and 54 % reported a family income below $40, 000 (Hardi et al., 2022). The first wave of SAND (mean age 15.8) involved youth and their primary caregiver traveling to the University of Michigan for a 6-8 h in-person study session and a 1-h MRI scan. ...
Enhancing the generalizability of neuroimaging studies requires actively engaging participants from under-represented communities. This paper leverages qualitative data to outline participant-driven recommendations for incorporating under-represented populations in neuroimaging protocols. Thirty-one participants, who had participated in neuroimaging research or could be eligible for one as part of an ongoing longitudinal study, engaged in semi-structured one-on-one interviews (84 % under-represented ethnic-racial identities and low-income backgrounds). Through thematic analysis, we identified nine relevant research practices from participants' reports, highlighting aspects of their experience that they appreciated and suggestions for improvement: (1) forming a diverse research team comprising members with whom participants can interact as equals; (2) increasing accessibility to research by providing transportation and flexible scheduling; (3) providing family-oriented spaces; (4) enriching the campus visits to include optional on-campus activities to connect with the University; (5) developing safe strategies to accommodate participants with tattoos during the MRI; (6) incorporating engaging and interactive tasks during neuroimaging sessions; (7) providing small gifts, such as a picture of one’s brain, in addition to financial compensation; (8) sharing research findings with the research participants; and (9) fostering long-term bidirectional relationships. The findings may be used to develop best practices for enhancing participant diversity in future neuroimaging studies.
... Still, the majority of studies are consistent with general research that has investigated socioenvironmental impacts on brain development in general and have shown that early chronic stress (e.g., childhood maltreatment) is associated with accelerated maturation of brain volume and cortical thickness that contribute to altered neurobiology in adulthood (Teicher et al., 2003). In addition, studies on socioeconomic disadvantage have shown that this chronic stress is initially associated with earlier maturation of fronto-limbic circuitry and greater sensory network integration (Rakesh et al., 2021;Noble et al., 2012;Hardi et al., 2022), even in neonates Brady et al., 2022). ...
... Material hardship linked to poverty may lead to different amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity in late infancy, and leads to reduced amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex connections in adolescents, also related to anxiety and depression, indicating some preferential windows of plasticity for targeted supporting interventions (Hardi et al., 2022). ...
In the last couple of decades, the study of human living brain has benefitted of neuroimaging and non-invasive electrophysiological techniques, which are particularly valuable during development. A number of studies allowed to trace the usual stages leading from pregnancy to adult age, and relate them to functional and behavioral measurements. It was also possible to explore the effects of some interventions, behavioral or not, showing that the commonly followed pathway to adulthood may be steered by external interventions. These events may result in behavioral modifications but also in structural changes, in some cases limiting plasticity or extending/modifying critical periods. In this review, we outline the healthy human brain development in the absence of major issues or diseases. Then, the effects of negative (different stressors) and positive (music training) environmental stimuli on brain and behavioral development is depicted. Hence, it may be concluded that the typical development follows a course strictly dependent from environmental inputs, and that external intervention can be designed to positively counteract negative influences, particularly at young ages. We also focus on the social aspect of development, which starts in utero and continues after birth by building social relationships. This poses a great responsibility in handling children education and healthcare politics, pointing to social accountability for the responsible development of each child.
... While unpredictable maternal signals have been linked to density of preadolescence white matter corticolimbic structures (Granger et al., 2021), little is known about how unstable environment across early childhood relate to network organization of structural connections. Furthermore, most work examining white matter tractography relating to early adverse experiences and psychopathology have focused on specific major white matter tracts (Granger et al., 2021;Hanson et al., 2013;Hein et al., 2018) or microstructures (Goetschius et al., 2020b;Hardi et al., 2022a), which do not capture the spatial characteristics of structural networks that represent information exchange in the brain (Bullmore and Sporns, 2009;Menon, 2011;Rubinov and Sporns, 2010). Measures of network organization can be accomplished by applying graph analysis to reconstructed white matter fibers streamlines using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) data (Nucifora et al., 2007). ...
... Participants were excluded if more than 5 % of slides were replaced and images for 10 participants who had most replaced slices were further visually inspected. These data were also utilized and described in previous publications (Calabrese et al., 2022;Goetschius et al., 2019Goetschius et al., , 2020bHardi et al., 2022a;Hein et al., 2018). ...
Unstable and unpredictable environments are linked to risk for psychopathology, but the underlying neural mechanisms that explain how instability relate to subsequent mental health concerns remain unclear. In particular, few studies have focused on the association between instability and white matter structures despite white matter playing a crucial role for neural development. In a longitudinal sample recruited from a population-based study (N = 237), household instability (residential moves, changes in household composition, caregiver transitions in the first 5 years) was examined in association with adolescent structural network organization (network integration, segregation, and robustness of white matter connectomes; Mage = 15.87) and young adulthood anxiety and depression (six years later). Results indicate that greater instability related to greater global network efficiency, and this association remained after accounting for other types of adversity (e.g., harsh parenting, neglect, food insecurity). Moreover, instability predicted increased depressive symptoms via increased network efficiency even after controlling for previous levels of symptoms. Exploratory analyses showed that structural connectivity involving the left fronto-lateral and temporal regions were most strongly related to instability. Findings suggest that structural network efficiency relating to household instability may be a neural mechanism of risk for later depression and highlight the ways in which instability modulates neural development.
... Ip et al. (2022) present findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study on the associations between socioeconomic disadvantage, resting-state functional connectivity between the medial OFC and amygdala, and internalizing symptoms in 9-to 10-year-old youth. Hardi et al. (2022) used diffusion imaging to examine the relationship between white matter structural connectivity within frontolimbic structures and material hardship at different ages along the developmental spectrum. They report that the associations between frontolimbic connectivity and material hardship differ across prefrontal regions and developmental periods, providing support for potential windows of plasticity for structural circuits that support emotion. ...
Growing up in poverty is associated with a heightened risk for mental and physical health problems across the life span, and there is a growing recognition of the role that social determinants of health play in driving these outcomes and inequities. How do the social conditions of poverty get under the skin to influence biology, and through what mechanisms do the stressors of poverty generate risk for a broad range of health problems? The growing field examining the neuroscience of socioeconomic status (SES) proposes that the brain is an entry point or pathway through which poverty and adversity become embedded in biology to generate these disparities. To date, however, the majority of research on the neuroscience of SES has focused on cognitive or executive control processes. However, the relationship between SES and brain systems involved in affective or emotional processes may be especially important for understanding social determinants of health. Accordingly, this Special Focus on The Affective Neuroscience of Poverty invited contributions from authors examining the relationship between SES and brain systems involved in generating and regulating emotions. In this editorial introduction, we (a) provide an overview of the neuroscience of SES; (b) introduce each of the articles in this Special Focus; and (c) discuss the scientific, treatment, and policy implications of studying the affective neuroscience of poverty.
Mother–child closeness, a mutually trusting and affectionate bond, is an important factor in shaping positive youth development. However, little is known about the neural pathways through which mother–child closeness is related to brain organization. Utilizing a longitudinal sample primarily from low-income families (N = 181; 76% African American youth and 54% female), this study investigated the associations between mother–child closeness at ages 9 and 15 years and structural connectivity organization (network integration, robustness, and segregation) at age 15 years. The assessment of mother–child closeness included perspectives from both mother and child. The results revealed that greater mother–child closeness is linked with increased global efficiency and transitivity, but not with modularity. Specifically, both the mother’s and child’s reports of closeness at age 15 years predicted network metrics, but report at age 9 years did not. Our findings suggest that mother–child closeness is associated with neural white matter organization, as adolescents who experienced greater mother–child closeness displayed topological properties indicative of more integrated and robust structural networks.
Importance
Parenting is associated with brain development and long-term health outcomes, although whether these associations depend on the developmental timing of exposure remains understudied. Identifying these sensitive periods can inform when and how parenting is associated with neurodevelopment and risk for mental illness.
Objective
To characterize how harsh and warm parenting during early, middle, and late childhood are associated with brain architecture during adolescence and, in turn, psychiatric symptoms in early adulthood during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This population-based, 21-year observational, longitudinal birth cohort study of low-income youths and families from Detroit, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois, used data from the Future of Families and Child Well-being Study. Data were collected from February 1998 to June 2021. Analyses were conducted from May to October 2023.
Exposures
Parent-reported harsh parenting (psychological aggression or physical aggression) and observer-rated warm parenting (responsiveness) at ages 3, 5, and 9 years.
Main Outcomes and Measures
The primary outcomes were brainwide (segregation, integration, and small-worldness), circuit (prefrontal cortex [PFC]–amygdala connectivity), and regional (betweenness centrality of amygdala and PFC) architecture at age 15 years, determined using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and youth-reported anxiety and depression symptoms at age 21 years. The structured life-course modeling approach was used to disentangle timing-dependent from cumulative associations between parenting and brain architecture.
Results
A total of 173 youths (mean [SD] age, 15.88 [0.53] years; 95 female [55%]) were included. Parental psychological aggression during early childhood was positively associated with brainwide segregation (β = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.45) and small-worldness (β = 0.17; 95% CI, 0.03 to 0.28), whereas parental psychological aggression during late childhood was negatively associated with PFC-amygdala connectivity (β = −0.37; 95% CI, −0.55 to −0.12). Warm parenting during middle childhood was positively associated with amygdala centrality (β = 0.23; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.38) and negatively associated with PFC centrality (β = −0.18; 95% CI, −0.31 to −0.03). Warmer parenting during middle childhood was associated with reduced anxiety (β = −0.05; 95% CI −0.10 to −0.01) and depression (β = −0.05; 95% CI −0.10 to −0.003) during early adulthood via greater adolescent amygdala centrality.
Conclusions and Relevance
Neural associations with harsh parenting were widespread across the brain in early childhood but localized in late childhood. Neural associations with warm parenting were localized in middle childhood and, in turn, were associated with mental health during future stress. These developmentally contingent associations can inform the type and timing of interventions.
Associations between adversity and youth psychopathology likely vary based on the types and timing of experiences. Major theories suggest that the impact of childhood adversity may either be cumulative in type (the more types of adversity, the worse outcomes) or in timing (the longer exposure, the worse outcomes) or, alternatively, specific concerning the type (e.g., parenting, home, neighborhood) or the timing of adversity (e.g., specific developmental periods). In a longitudinal sample from the Future of Families and Wellbeing Study ( N = 4,210), we evaluated these competing hypotheses using a data-driven structured life-course modeling approach using risk factors examined at child age 1 (infancy), 3 (toddlerhood), 5 (early childhood), and 9 (middle childhood). Results showed that exposures to more types of adversity for longer durations (i.e., cumulative in both type and timing) best predicted youth psychopathology. Adversities that occurred at age 9 were better predictors of youth psychopathology as compared to those experienced earlier, except for neglect, which was predictive of internalizing symptoms when experienced at age 3. Throughout childhood (across ages 1–9), aside from the accumulation of all adversities, parental stress and low collective efficacy were the strongest predictors of internalizing symptoms, whereas psychological aggression was predictive of externalizing symptoms.
